An existing heat exchanger, such as an air conditioner, is typically constructed by stacking a plurality of heat exchanger fins, in which a plurality of through-holes have been formed to enable heat exchanger tubes to be inserted.
Such heat exchanger fins are manufactured by a manufacturing apparatus for heat exchanger fins depicted in FIG. 14.
The manufacturing apparatus for heat exchanger fins is equipped with an uncoiler 12 where a thin metal plate 10 made of aluminum or the like has been wound into a coil. The metal strip 10 pulled out from the uncoiler 12 via pinch rollers 14 is inserted into an oil applying apparatus 16 where machining oil is applied onto the surface of the metal strip 10, and is then supplied to a mold apparatus 20 provided inside a press apparatus 18.
The mold apparatus 20 internally includes an upper mold die set 22 that is capable of up-down movement and a lower mold die set 24 that is static. A plurality of collar-equipped through-holes (not illustrated), where collars of a predetermined height are formed around through-holes, are formed at predetermined intervals in a predetermined direction by the mold apparatus 20.
The result of machining the metal thin plate to produce the through-holes and the like is hereinafter referred to as the “metal strip 11”. After being conveyed a predetermined distance in the predetermined direction, the metal strip 11 is cut into predetermined lengths by a cutter 26. The products (heat exchanger fins) produced by such cutting into predetermined lengths are stored in a stacker 28. The stacker 28 has a plurality of pins 27 erected in the perpendicular direction and stacks the manufactured heat exchanger fins with the pins 27 inserted into the through holes.
Patent Document 1
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H05-192728